Grandma Visits

Mom came and to start off the visit we enjoyed a Shakespeare play at a Winery to celebrate her birthday. It was an amazing setting - great view of the lake and the actors did a great job.

Went for a wonderful walk down to the waterfront and mom saw the rose garden in Summer bloom. She's been here Fall, Spring and Winter and now has finally seen it in it's full glory. Mark was walking around the garden so carefully I dare say anything, but I did, and his response was "I'm just looking for the perfect one to pick for you mommy!".

Kyla took strange to Grandma at first but warmed up quickly. She really enjoyed stories and tea parties and playing dollies. Grandma got her a trike for her 2nd birthday and Kyla loves it.

During Grandma's stay Auntie Mel and Uncle Don and Joel and Josh arrived. Thus began a week long family fun filled visit with lots to see and explore. Although Grandma didn't stay the whole week, we packed in a lot while she was still there. Such as a visit to a Fruit museum - Cherry festival, water splash parks, lake, beach relaxing, walks to the park, and a ton of visiting time.

Soccer Boy

Mark has finished an 8 week preschool aged soccer Kick and Run group. Two coaches and 14 kids. They learned soccer stops and bounderies and hitting the ball with their feet and heads. Obviously the no hand rule was the hardest for most of the kids. Mark seemed to like to kick the ball out of bounds rather then keep it in bounds - still working on boundery rules. He hoped to throw it back in each time but didn't realize it was the other teams job. They had a ton of drills, a ton of water breaks, and fun games with the balls before the soccer game time each week. Lots of fun!!

Deck progress

Here Mark is working really hard on the deck with his Home Depot tools from Auntie Marianne. He loves to hammer the most. They can't be up there without adult supervision as it's not safe yet.
The deck railings have started to go up and the end of the project is in sight - over half done YEAH!! As the railing is finished it will finally be safe for the kids to be out there (as long as the stairway is blocked off until finished).


I think we are all ready for it to be done including Ray, working all day only to come and work on the deck until 8 or 9pm.

Kyla moments

Kyla has hit the beginnings of being two. She has another month and a bit to go but she is in full mood swings at times. She is still our little princess but we thought we should share this one picture of her tantrums too. I took a video of 30 seconds of her 45 minute tantrum the other day for a good laugh afterwards.
Kyla loves the phone but doesn't really like to talk much if someone is actually on the other end. She is here talking to Grandpa Ernie on the phone after I had already hung up. Grandpa do you like the shirt - she finally fits it. "I'm to sexy for my diaper!". She is trying to toilet train herself but no where near done yet.

This is our princess again enjoying the summer heat.

Mark learns to drive

Kids Traffic Safety Village is a great place for kids to go and learn traffic rules and driving skills. Not many parents want backseat drivers but the kids sure loved driving their own cars. Mark went with his preschool and looks forward to going again some day soon. Maybe even with his cousins when they come (we'll have to check it out). Mark came home proud he had only drove on the sidewalk once!!

Father's Day Camping

Father's Day weekend was a camping trip with Ray's family. We were sad to miss Shelley and Levi and they were there in our thoughts. Imagine only driving across the lake and setting up camp. We couldn't see home from our camp site but standing on the beach you could see the downtown buildings. I was surprised how we were so close yet it really felt like we got away. Three tents on one site with 5 kids in them and Gramma and Grandpa in the trailer across the path. Amazingly it all worked out well. First night was rough as always settling everyone down even the camp ground lady was frustrated with how long our kids took to go down. Eventually all the adults were able to sit and gab around the fire enjoying food.

Saturday our little family had a nice family hike. We were not sure how the kids would do but once Mark saw the stairs he was ready to run up them - first set was just over a 120. We set out to 1st look out and waited for Mark and Kyla to determine if they could go on. They were amazing. Kyla did all the stairs (200 in total) and was carried less then 1/2 way. Mark was so excited to walk the whole way running at times. Up the canyon and down to the river bed to splash and back up the mountain on the other side and back down to our campground. The waterfall was beautiful but most of all we were so proud of how well the kids did and their great attitudes and YEAH!! we have a hiking family.

Second night was raining so hard there was questions about going home. With their tent leaking Karen and Terry headed home. By the next morning the other two tents had leaked to and we were all packing up after the rain finally stopped. As long as you're prepared rain never hurt anyone but really it's not fun to camp in a tent in the rain.

Thanks Auntie Mel and Uncle Don for the Poncho for Kyla she loved it!!

Cars and Monster Trucks

During the May long weekend we stopped in for a car show after camping. Mark picked his favorite cars and took some of the photos.

For an early Father's day gift I sent Ray and Mark to the Monster Truck show. They both loved it and were glad I told them they needed the ear plugs. That's just me being paronoid over their hearing after working in the field of Deafblindness for so long. Great Father-son bonding time.

A motorcycle show might have to come next time as they both loved watching the motorcyles jumping more then the trucks.

More construction

Some of you may think we are always under construction in some way or another but we're not. We are finally starting this next project though. I was hoping to have this started back in April but with all the paper work it wasn't until the end of May. The new deck will be 1 1/2 times the size and will be large enough to put our patio table up on it plus have room to play. With summer here I am desperately waiting to use it!! Anyone other than Mark want to come help so Ray can finish it faster???

More Easter Pics...

Forgot some Easter pictures of the family and thought I should add them. I think we were the only one with the family shot at Theif River Falls.

Also enjoyed our visit with Uncle Alex and Chuck and friend Anna.

Amazingly this was Marianne's first visit to the cottage.

Many friends have enjoyed this little get-a-way so I'm sure they are surprised too to find out not all the family has even been there yet. The cousins were happy to enjoy the cottage toys and especially Grandma Joan's amazing finds of cool lego including pirates!! Hey mom, guess what I found some here too so now Mark has his own Value Village find of Pirarte lego.

Another memory for us was our visit to Paul and Myrna's to sadly discover the favourite pool has been dug up and will be replaced with grass :( We're sad but since we're not there much we couldn't really fight it and I'm sure they will love the grass over the concrete.

A visitor from Winnipeg

When we got the phone call that Jodi was coming and needed a place to stay while attending a family funeral it was of course hard not to have some excitment in my voice. On a sad and serious trip it was nice to know that we were able to make it a bit easier for her to come and provide a happier side to the trip. Jodi, I know this wasn't easy for you, and I hope you know we loved your visit and think of you and your family often. Mark was sad the kids couldn't come and still talks about when "Joey's Mom" came. We'll wait to see if the summer allows for you to make it here as a family.
Kyla loved having baby Annie here to play with. Kyla was excited to see all the "baby" toys come out again as I had put most of them away. It was fun to play with the toys again. She loved sharing dolls with baby Annie and is here dancing with her. Kyla would walk holding tightly to the side of Annie's stroller as we went for walks and enjoyed our Mother's Day coffee at Starbucks thanks to Grandma Joan.

Thanks Jodi!! Amazing how a funeral can be a sad time and yet bring family and friends together. Glad you were able to be here with your family and cousins. The timing of your visit was much needed for me too. May was an emotionally hard month for me for a number of reasons and I totallyappreciated our long talks together and just having you here.

Mark and his bike

This is Mark at the Gardom Lake fundraiser. He biked the whole 5 km up and down the hills. Some hills he needed the extra push especially on the way back but he was the youngest bike rider this year and won a prize for it. Most adults; including Grandpa Wally bike the 70kms. For Mark's age and his distance we figure it's pretty comparable and impressive!! He was pretty proud of himself here holding his prize - his water bottle - a true highlight for him as he seems to be obessed with water bottles these days.

Mark's most recent news is that he lost his trainning wheels the second week of May. I thought I had a picture to show but I have a ton of video and no still photos. I tried uploading a video but have to try the youtube idea that the Gunther's and Duester's use so you'll have to wait for me to figure it out - I'm slow on the up hill when it comes to technology!!

We were prepared for a painful learning curve for Mark to catch on to the balancing of two wheels but he blew us away after figuring it out in less then 10 mins. Just ask Jodi Epp in Winnipeg as she was here as a witness.

Easter

Easter in Winnipeg was fun filled with cousins playing. It was bitter/sweet as we didn't get as much time as we had hoped to visit friends but had some much needed time with family. Saw a few friends but for sure missed alot too. Thanks to those we were able to spend time with and sorry to all those we missed :( Believe me it was very emotional leaving friends and family behind again for me.

The cousins had time dressed up, playing outside and inside and of course the Easter Egg hunt was also a hit. A quick day trip to the cottage to satisfy Mark and prove to him there are no frogs in April in Winnipeg as there is still enough snow to get stuck in - we proved that.

Also took a trip to the USA to the Thief River falls waterpark and a quick stop shopping in North Dakoda at Target and Old Navy.

Ray's toy

Ray and his new bike...


Yes, I have finally succumbed to the wishes that I have had for a very long time. I bought a motorbike this week. I have been wanting to buy one off and on for the last few years, but always cannot justify the price and operation of a bike, but now I am doing it anyway!!

I bought a 1986 Suzuki GS550, for those of you who know what this is, and it should be lots of fun. It is quite light with a low centre of gravity so it is very easy to handle, but still plenty quick enough!!

Mel actually has been encouraging me to buy one, and follow through with my motorcycle licence this year. It makes it a little easier in Kelowna with a nice long riding season and good weather most of the summer.

Ray and the kids...


Mark is really excited to have a motorcycle sitting outside our house and uses every excuse to jump on and pretend he is riding. Of course he would rather the motor is not running but that's no surprise! He finds the HORN the most intriguing part of the bike and I'm glad it doesn't work when it is not on!!

Kyla's just not quite sure as you might be able to tell that her face is not smiling and I'm having to hold her quite tight just to get this picture of the three of us!!

The future rider...

No, Mark will not be riding anytime soon and probably not even on the back until he is a little older and of course after I'm allowed to take passengers. (hopefully by mid summer)

PS. I know this blog is usually Mel's thing but she said I needed to write this one myself.





not as long as Grandma can say anything...

My birthday

So a few people asked why I posted about Mark and not about me. Yep, we all still have birthday's the kids just usually get the bigger celebrations. Mine is not a big number until next year so wasn't too over board this year. I guess it was still emotional a bit for me as I thought a lot about life; dreams and goals, where I'm at, and my spiritual walk.

The week of my birthday was horrible. I had one request for the Saturday - no throwing up, no diahrea, no pee accidents - NO BODILY FLUIDS!! It almost worked. Kyla was so excited to get food after having a week of not feeling like eating or not keeping anything down, she stuffed her mouth full and gaged. Almost made it.

Anyways, we had a fun night and the picture shows it - Thanks to Montana's.

Mark Turning 4

Mark celebrated his 4th birthday a few times. With Grandma Joan here in February we had an early birthday celbration and opening presents. In March on the 17th he recieved his present from Grandpa Dyck in the mail and opened that, and the next day he had his party with 10 friends and finally his actually birthday we went out for lunch with extended family. Wow this boy is loved!!

Here's just a few snap shots...
Birthday cake took 2 hours to decorate - my first time.

Pinata was created with the help of Grandma Joan - thanks. Too bad we made it too thick for the kids to break.

Soccer hop from Auntie Marianne was a hit by both Mark and Kyla

Scooter from cousin Kaden has been fun to ride outside!

1, 2, 3, ....

Kyla is busy practicing her vocabulary which is full of noise. Some are becoming more distinct but not full words yet. We don't count "cook, cook" for cookie but you can understand what she wants. Counting 1, 2, 3, She is here busy lining up her many stuffies and giving them all a drink of milk before bed. A typical game at any time of day.

Mark on the other hand is count ZZZ's as he is "doing" a puzzle. He was crying and sure that he didn't need a nap and yet fell asleep here in the middle of doing a puzzle and today in the middle of a tantrum. I would say 90% of the time he doesn't have naps these days but on days that he does it's obvious. Quite time is full of puzzles, books, computer time and the odd time as here - Sleeping.

Winter??

As we watch the news we see that friends and family are still enjoying the fun of the COLD, COLD winters across the country. We are enjoying the colour of green showing up in many places. I saw my first signs of flowers poping through the ground today. Now, I know we might not be out of the clear for another possible snow fall but with temps. rising to reach +12 by Saturday we are very hopful that Spring is on it's way.

We have had other changes to watch each time we look out into our backyard too as condo's are now blocking our mountiain view. Oh, well.

Up the Mountian

UP, UP, UP we go and the look on Mark's face as we get higher and higher is worth the trip. The Gondola is a new experience to the kids. Kyla's first time and the first time that Mark actually remembers.

We went up the mountian to enjoy the beautiful weather and try skating out for the first time with Mark. We got up there early and took a ride up the gondola then headed back down to get laced up for skating. Friends arrived late so it lasted longer then expected but it was GREAT!!
Mark used the bars very well. We took turns helping him and letting him try on his own. Very impressive for the first time. Definately one Winter activity to be repeated in the future!!